


Sunsets Across the Rooftop

by hellosweetie17



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dates, Established Relationship, Fluff, Games, M/M, Next to You - A PegoRyu Dating Zine, School Festivals, Shujin Academy (Persona 5)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24822133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellosweetie17/pseuds/hellosweetie17
Summary: Ryuji and Akira make a date out of attending Shujin Academy's school festival. Prizes are won, tastebuds are tested, and kisses ensue.Next to You - A PegoRyu Dating Zine
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	Sunsets Across the Rooftop

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story for _Next to You_ \- A PegoRyu Dating Zine.
> 
> Be on the lookout for the free PDF. There you'll find the collective works from the amazing writers and artists. Each piece features Ryuji and Joker at various dating spots in the game!
> 
> Next to You's [Tumblr](https://pegoryudatingzine.tumblr.com/)

“You know we don’t have to sneak around like this, right?”

“Yeah, but you ain’t the one avoidin’ Ann, are you?” Ryuji ran his fingers through his hair, heaving a sigh before adding, “You have _no_ idea how hard it was tryin’ to get outta that room. Girls are crazy, man.”

“Is this about the maid’s costume? I definitely agree with her: you would’ve looked cute—”

Ryuji slapped a hand over Akira’s mouth. A bright blush infused his cheeks, the color darkening to a scarlet red when he heard Akira’s muffled laugh. He scowled at the amusement glistening behind Akira’s gray eyes. At least one of them thought it was hilarious to see him in a freaking _dress_.

“Shut. Up,” Ryuji growled, emphasizing the ‘p’ with a harsh pop of his lips. He shot Akira a dirty glare.

“And thanks for havin’ my back back there by the way. I can’t believe you were just gonna let ‘em eat me alive.”

So much for bros being bros. At least Ryuji would’ve tried to rescue Akira if he had been Ann’s target for her café. Then again, Akira would’ve happily gone along with her plans and wore the black and white frilly outfit like it was made specifically for him. He would’ve raked in yen by the thousands, too.

Fingers curled around his wrist, gently pulling his hand away from Akira’s mouth; there was a hint of a sweet, innocent smile tugging at his lips. It was a total lie, but it never failed to yank at Ryuji’s heartstrings, no matter how much he wanted to punch Akira.

“I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?” Akira simpered. He poked out his bottom lip when Ryuji scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“ _Pretty please_?”

“Yeah, _fine_.” Ryuji playfully punched Akira’s shoulder. “But you owe me big time.”

“Of course. Anything you want. Just name it, and it’s yours.”

Ryuji tilted his head to the side. Grinning from ear-to-ear, he teased, sly and flirty, “...Anything?”

He watched Akira watch him, Akira’s eyes bright with mirth and bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Sure, the small janitor’s closet wasn’t exactly romantic—dust lined the shelves, gross mop water permeated the air and the low-hanging light bulb flickered with a pretty creepy glow—but a dude could snag a quick kiss from his boyfriend, right?

“Anything,” Akira whispered. The corner of his mouth curved into a sultry smile. He placed his hands on Ryuji’s knees, his palms and fingers splaying as he leaned forward.

Ryuji’s eyes followed Akira’s every move. Even in the dim lighting, he could see the playful glimmer in his gaze and the soft blush blossoming in his cheeks and dusting the bridge of his nose. And while he sat there on the cramped floor, waiting as Akira took his good ol’, dramatic time, Ryuji couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful his leader was.

Akira was a breath away from Ryuji’s lips when he suddenly veered off course and went for his ear instead. “Are we staying in this closet all day, or are we gonna— _oh_ , I don’t know—do something at the festival?”

“Yeah,” Ryuji huffed, “when I’m sure Ann’s done creepin’ around.”

“Oh, she already knows where we are.”

“Are you for real?!” Ryuji exclaimed, jaw dropping. “We need to get outta here!”

“Calm down. I’m joking.” Akira hopped to his feet. With one hand, he began dusting off his plaid pants while he held out the other for Ryuji to take.

“She did send me a text, though,” he added.

Ryuji let himself be hauled to his feet with a grunt. Kneeling over to brush off his pants, he gazed up at Akira. “And?”

“I told her we’ll stop by if we’re done before the festival’s over.”

Akira pushed his glasses up, his mouth twitching into a lopsided smile. “And don’t worry about the maid costume. I managed to fend her off with promises of crepes.”

A relieved sigh blew past Ryuji’s parted lips. “Thanks, bro.”

He straightened and immediately smacked the back of his head on the light bulb; it swung upon impact, its chain creaking and light flickering. 

“ _Ow_!” Ryuji winced, his hand flying back to rub at the sore spot.

Cold hands cupped his cheeks. Ryuji’s attention zeroed in on Akira. He watched as his boyfriend slowly leaned toward him, then felt soft lips press against his forehead.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here,” Akira murmured against his skin. “You asked me out on a date today, so let’s get to dating.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Ryuji agreed with a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

He slung his arm over Akira’s shoulder, pulling him in to kiss his temple. Just as his mouth touched frizzy, black curls, the closet door opened with a squeal of its hinges. Ryuji’s eyes flicked to the side; they widened at the sight of Kawakami standing there with her hand on her hip, her expression amused yet unimpressed.

Ryuji could feel his cheeks warming, his soul dying with every second that passed. He was frozen to the spot. Mumbling a quiet curse into Akira’s hair, he clenched the other’s black blazer.

“Sakamoto-kun, Kurusu-kun,” Kawakami said. “I’ve been wondering where you two ran off to.”

Ryuji peeled his mouth away from Akira’s temple, but he remained glued to his side. He stuffed his free hand into his pocket and replied, “Hey, sensei.”

For the most part, Ryuji expected a scolding or even detention for huddling around in dark spaces, doing things he probably shouldn’t be doing at school. Instead, he saw Kawakami’s gaze slide toward Akira. Seconds later, her brows shot up. She exhaled an airy laugh.

“I suggest you boys find something else to do.” Kawakami glanced from Akira to Ryuji. “I hear there’s a school festival going on right now.”

Then, she was gone.

Ryuji blinked. “Uh, what was that about?”

“Nothing!” Akira chirped. He pecked Ryuji on the cheek when he gave him a suspicious look.

“Alright,” Ryuji conceded with a shrug. He dropped his arm from Akira’s shoulder. Taking a step forward, he poked his head through the door and looked left, then right.

“The coast is clear,” Ryuji whispered, peeking at Akira from the corner of his eye. “So, whaddya wanna do?”

Without a word, Akira grabbed his hand and dragged him out into the hallway. He led him past the students too busy to pay them any mind before making a sharp right into another hallway.

“Let’s fish.”

They were climbing the steps to the third floor when Ryuji said, “I thought we were goin’ to the pond later on.”

“We are, but there’s a classroom where you can win a goldfish, and I want one.”

“What the heck are you gonna do with the goldfish you want _me_ to win?” Ryuji asked, skipping over the last step. “I mean, what if Mona tries to eat it or somethin’?”

“To answer your first question: I’ll love it to death.” Akira glanced back at Ryuji, teasing, “I might even name it after its father.”

“You’re killin’ me.”

“And Morgana won’t eat it. After a lengthy discussion, he agreed not to touch anything you give me, including things he considers food.”

He continued guiding Ryuji to the end of the hall. Their shoes squeaked as they strolled past the lockers lining the walls and idle chit chat floating from the classrooms.

A stray thought popped up in Ryuji’s mind. “If he’s not touching my stuff anymore, where the eff did that shirt go? The one ya stole from me.”

Akira came to a stop. Ryuji nearly crashed into him; he tripped over his own feet, instead.

“Well,” Akira began, turning to him with a guilty smile, “I wore it to bed one night and he said it was comfortable...so he sort of stole it from _me_.”

Huffing a laugh, Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, well, if you want another shirt, just, ya know, take it or somethin’. Whichever one you want.”

After he spoke, heat crawled up Akira’s neck and blossomed in his cheeks. Shyly, he averted his gaze. He began pulling at his hair, tugging and twirling the black strands around his fingers. The sight made Ryuji smirk.

“You alright?” he teased, ducking down to meet Akira’s eyes.

“Shut up,” Akira mumbled. “Let’s hurry up before all the goldfish are gone.”

He spun around and practically darted the rest of the way to the classroom, Ryuji’s laughter hot on his heels. Within seconds, they arrived at the room. They strolled through the doorway.

Inside, students gathered behind the barrier surrounding a large table. Ryuji stood on his toes to look over their heads. He spotted rows upon rows of glass bowls. A fair amount were empty, some of which were done intentionally while others had their occupants taken as prizes. Thankfully, there were still plenty of bowls filled with goldfish swimming in circles.

He watched different colored balls bouncing between bowls with _clinks_ and splashes of water. Some skipped over the bowls entirely, falling to the floor where they bounced and rolled away.

“Alright, c’mon,” Ryuji said, nudging Akira in the arm. “Let’s win us a goldfish.”

Stepping forward, they squeezed themselves through the students crowding the table. Once they were there and Ryuji was given five colored ping pong balls, he looked at Akira with a wide grin.

“Wish your bro some luck,” he said, his chest puffing out with confidence and pride.

Akira, hiding a smile behind one hand, saluted Ryuji with the other.

Ryuji turned his attention to the bowls. Concentration furrowed his brows, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes scanned over the bowls until he found one that was in the far corner. It was surrounded by empty bowls on all sides; either the other fish had already been won, or everyone else simply sucked. Ryuji hoped it was the latter.

He inhaled a deep breath and threw the ball. A frustrated grunt blew past his lips when it hit the rim of the bowl and slid into the empty one with a light splash; the water rippled as the blue ball bobbed on the surface.

“Damn it,” he muttered.

Akira leaned into his ear, whispering, “Hey, don’t worry about it. I know you got this.”

The encouragement boosted Ryuji’s confidence. He adjusted his footing, raising his hand to aim. With renewed vigor, he tossed the second ball. This time, it spun along the rim of the bowl before it slipped into a gap and landed on the table with a _click_.

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Ryuji huffed, eyes wide with shock.

Beside him, Akira let out a soft laugh.

A growing sense of frustration and stubbornness bubbled in Ryuji’s chest. Defeat wasn’t an option. He _would_ be leaving this room victorious, even if it was the last thing he did. Ryuji had three ping pong balls left; he would be damned if he didn’t make good use of them.

The third ball missed by kilometers. Ryuji shrugged it off. He still had two chances left. Despite the goldfish taunting him with every flick of its fin, Akira was going home to LeBlanc with a new pet whether the fish liked it or not.

Cracking his neck from side-to-side, Ryuji widened his stance and licked his lips. Determination began to course through his veins. He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it in a shuddering sigh. Ryuji tossed the red ball.

Time slowed to a crawl. They both watched it bounce across the bowls, tapping their rims with _clinks_ heard over the crowd. Ryuji held his breath, his fists clenching in anticipation.

A loud, excited “Heck yeah!” burst past his lips when the ball dipped into the targeted bowl.

“See?” Akira said, placing his hand on Ryuji’s shoulder. He leaned in to kiss Ryuji’s cheek before pulling back.

“I knew you could do it.”

Ryuji glanced at Akira, grinning wide and bright. “Because I’m totally awesome, right?”

“Of course. There’s no doubt about that.”

“Here you are,” a student chirped, yanking Ryuji’s attention away from Akira; they were holding a bag containing his prize. 

“Thanks,” Ryuji replied. He exchanged the last ball for the bag.

With a salute to the student, Ryuji spun on his heel and headed for the door, urging Akira to follow him. They entered the hallway.

Ryuji came to a stop, turning to face his leader. “Whaddya wanna do next?”

Akira placed one hand on his hip, tapping his chin with the other. A thoughtful hum resonated in his throat. “We could get some food before heading to the rooftop. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop by this one class that’s serving coffee.”

Nodding, Ryuji popped his lips. “You wanna try the VR display, too?”

“Yeah, sure. Coffee, VR, food, rooftop.”

“Deal.”

* * *

It took everything in Ryuji’s power not to keel over with laughter.

Though Akira was polite beyond measure, Ryuji could tell his leader’s soul was dying as he drank his bitter, lukewarm, sludgy coffee; every sip resulted in a minute frown and twitch of Akira’s eye, his throat struggling to gulp it down.

“You okay, dude?” Ryuji teased, leaning back in the chair. “You look like you wanna throw the cup into Mementos.”

Akira glared at him over the rim of the styrofoam cup. “I’m _fine_.”

To prove it, Akira tossed his head back and downed the rest of it in one swallow. He choked, sputtering as he lifted his head.

“There,” he bragged, and Ryuji chuckled into his fist.

“Alright, you win.” Ryuji hopped to his feet. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Wanna head to the VR now, or would you rather skip to get food and some fresh air on the roof?”

“We could still go to the—” Akira cut off in a gurgle; his hand immediately flew to his mouth to stifle a burp. A blush flooded his cheeks as he shook his head, clearing his throat. 

“The VR display has fans, yeah?” When Ryuji nodded, Akira continued, “Okay, we’ll go there. Does onigiri sound good? Get that and work our way up.”

“Sounds good to me!”

After getting to his feet, Akira grabbed Ryuji’s hand. They practically fled the classroom in pursuit of their next destination.

* * *

Ryuji opted to hold both Akira’s glasses and the goldfish bag while Akira stood in front of the fans wearing the VR headset.

A breeze rustled through Akira’s hair, a smile playing on his lips as he watched whatever the VR was showing him. It was a grin Ryuji loved: Akira looked free of his troubles—something they both knew he needed. It seemed to have wiped away the memory of the horrible coffee, too. That was a win for sure.

Akira finished his time with the VR quicker than Ryuji had anticipated. A refreshed expression was on Akira’s face as they waved their goodbyes.

They stopped by the class offering food and with onigiri in hand, then skipped up the stairs and out the door to their old hideout.

“That feels good,” Akira sighed at the wind.

Across the roof, the leaves scattered in the breeze; a few gathered below the table as they climbed up to sit on it, facing the setting sun. A pleasant silence fell between them as they began eating. The minutes ticked by, the sun slowly dipping beneath the horizon.

Akira laid his head on Ryuji’s shoulder; his curly hair tickled Ryuji’s neck. “Today was nice.”

Ryuji laughed. “Better than the coffee?”

“ _Way_ better than the coffee.” Akira reached up to press a kiss on Ryuji’s cheek.

If Ryuji blushed, neither of them mentioned it. He brought a hand to the back of his head and ran his fingers through the hair at the nape.

“Looks like we’re gonna miss the pond, though.”

“That’s okay,” Akira insisted, patting Ryuji’s knee. “Sitting here with you and the fish is enough for me. The sun adds a nice romantic, cheesy touch, you know? I can’t ask for anything more.”

The corner of Ryuji’s mouth tugged onto a lopsided smile. “Thanks, man.”

Akira hummed in reply.

Another round of silence fell. It was comfortable, peaceful, only broken between yawns. A part of Ryuji wished they could stay tucked away in their own little bubble until it popped years later.

“Hey,” Ryuji called, peering down at the head full of hair still resting on his shoulder. “You still gonna name the goldfish?”

Akira, tilted his head back, gazing up a Ryuji through his bangs. Ryuji was struck with the urge to kiss his forehead.

“I’m naming him after its father, remember?”

“Huh?”

A blinding, dreamy smile spread across Akira’s face. “Sakamoto Ryuji, of course.”

Ryuji looked away with a huff, his cheeks darkening. “You’re so lame.”

“Wrong,” Akira countered, snuggling in closer to Ryuji’s side. “I’m beyond awesome, and you love me and our new child.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryuji agreed, kissing Akira on the forehead.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/goodbyesweetie)


End file.
